Snooker legend Alex Higgins' son jailed for robbing a newsagents

Jordan Higgins, 31, was high and drink and drugs when he burst into Cheadle News in Manchester and grabbed the terrified shopkeeper, Steven Gee, 51, around the throat before dragging him round the back of the counter

The son of snooker legend Alex Higgins has been jailed for robbing a newsagents - after his hard-drinking father was blamed for his upbringing.

Jordan Higgins, 31, was high and drink and drugs when he burst into Cheadle News in Manchester and grabbed the terrified shopkeeper, Steven Gee, 51, around the throat before dragging him round the back of the counter.

An accomplice grabbed boxes of cigarettes worth £1,500 and put them into a duvet cover.

The two masked robbers ran out leaving behind another load of cigarettes they pulled from a shelf as Mr Gee pressed the alarm and locked the door.

The pair fled in a car with false number plates but it crashed moments later and police gave chase through nearby gardens.

Higgins jnr was jailed for 18 months after he was nailed when his DNA was found on the car’s airbag as well as a scarf and gloves he had used for the robbery, prosecutor Andrew Long told Minshull Street Crown Court.

The 61-second raid left the victim shocked and with marks on his neck where Higgins had grabbed him around the throat.

Estelle Parkhouse, defending, said Higgins “wasn’t thinking clearly” because of the drink and drugs he had consumed before the raid during the dark early hours of January 5 this year.

She added: “He’s lived in the shadow of his father’s fame and unfortunately it’s been a life under constant scrutiny as a result of the pressures placed upon him which have been hard to bare.”

Higgins, of Heald Green, Stockport, had a criminal record dating back to his youth and been in The Priory for alcohol abuse from the age of 14, the court heard. He admitted robbery.

His mother and sister were in the public gallery although his grandfather - described as ‘a far more appropriate father figure than his father ever was’ - had been unable to come to court, said Ms Parkhouse.

Judge John Potter said he had no alternative but to send him to jail.

He added: “I accept you’re somebody who had a difficult upbringing in that you had - through your father - to live through the glare of publicity, a father that according to the statements I have read was hardly an appropriate and proper role model to his son. But that’s no excuse for you targeting Mr Gee as you did in the early hours of that morning.”

Higgins junior, who was wearing a suit in the dock, showed no emotion as he was jailed for 18 months. He waved to his mother and sister watching from the public gallery as he was led down.

Known as ‘The People’s Champion’, Northern Irishman Alex Higgins died in 2010, aged 61, He became the sport’s pin-up boy and won the World Championship in 1972 and 1982 and was runner-up on a further two occasions.

He was nicknamed ‘Hurricane’ because of his fast playing style.

A renowned heavy smoker and drinker, he was famed for his wild antics during his time as a player.